Retail and construction lead insolvencies as UK firms in ‘perilous position’ June 20, 2025 Wholesale and retail traders and construction firms accounted for nearly a third of all insolvencies seen in the 12 months to April. Data published by the Insolvency Service has pointed to a further concerning trend in the UK economy as the number of companies insolvencies in May grew eight per cent month-on-month. The number of [...]
Alarm bells as retail sales suffer largest fall in 18 months June 20, 2025 UK high streets suffered from post-Easter fatigue among shoppers as official data showed retail sales dropped by 2.7 per cent in May. The Office for National Statistics said a fall in sales in May represented the largest month-on-month drop since December 2023. A Bloomberg poll of economists expected retail sales to drop by 0.5 per [...]
Week in Business: Non-dom tax U-turn makes sense but what about the rest of us? June 19, 2025 The Chancellor is scrambling to hang on a few non-doms, but what about the tax bomb dropped on the rest of the country?
HSBC Championships: Why sponsors can’t get enough of Queen’s Club June 19, 2025 For the last three years, the men’s championship at Queen’s Club has been voted the best ATP 500-level tournament on the circuit by perhaps the most important stakeholders of all: players. The tennis-watching public also seems to love it. Last week’s women’s championship, held for the first time in 50 years, sold out for several [...]
VILT – The clock is ticking: European Accessibility Act Looms June 19, 2025 A significant regulatory shift is on the horizon for the European Union, and astute UK business leaders should be watching closely. In June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will come into full effect, overhauling accessibility requirements for a wide range of digital products and services, including banking platforms, e-commerce, and e-books. While the UK [...]
B&M swaps one tax haven for another June 19, 2025 B&M has revealed plans to swap Luxembourg, the European tax haven the discount retailer has been domiciled in for over a decade, with Jersey. The London-listed company, which has its operational headquarters in Liverpool, said the move would simplify its corporate and administrative structure and provide “greater flexibility for returning capital to shareholders going forward”. [...]
Co-op boss urges Miliband to support small firms June 19, 2025 The boss of the Co-op has urged Ed Miliband to rectify the host of “far-reaching challenges” impeding small businesses’ net zero efforts, warning that a paucity of cheap finance and planning red tape were getting in the way of firms’ ambitions. In a letter seen by City AM Shirine Khoury-Haq said Britain was at a [...]
Hays: Shares tank after recruiter issues latest profit warning June 19, 2025 Hays has downgraded its annual profit guidance and issued a bleak forecast for the UK’s recruitment market. The London-listed group said it expected pre-exceptional operating profits of around £45m in 2025, well below analyst consensus of £56.4m. Shares tumbled more than 13 per cent in early deals. Firms have been grappling with increases to national [...]
UK business set to gain big from India trade deal, says minister June 19, 2025 UK firms in financial services, pharmaceuticals and education are poised to benefit from a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) with India, according to India’s minister of commerce and industry, Piyush Goyal, who described the two nations as “very complimentary” and “comfortable working with eachother”. Speaking at the India Global Forum in London on Wednesday, Goyal [...]
Sir James Dyson is right to warn on Labour’s damaging policies June 19, 2025 Sir James Dyson knows a thing or two about how to build a business. In an impassioned piece in The Sun yesterday he reflected on his own entrepreneurial experiences, saying “It took me 5,127 prototypes, each made by hand…I was on the brink of bankruptcy before I found success.” He set out his concerns that [...]